Simplified Expression
by pseudonym08
Summary: #2: It all began with a single mathematical failure, which started a chain of chemical reactions and physical attractions. Would you be able to simplify this simple expression and get the whole equation? Slight crack. You know the pairings. R&R
1. Working out our Chemistry

I did not own Gakuen Alice. No plagiarisms allowed.

This is slightly crack, but either way, I bet you'd be able to solve these equations in no time. Quite easy, if you ask me. But be sure you get the correct justifications.

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><p><strong>SIMPLIFIED EXPRESSION<strong>

- You're the solute to my solvent. Together, we form one good solution.

Chapter One | **WORKING ****OUT ****OUR ****CHEMISTRY**

A certain brunette was walking along the dormitory hallways in the middle of the night.

She was cradling big books in her small arms. Addition to that, a big black sling bag also hung in her shoulders. After she reached a certain room number, she knocked on the door thrice before someone answered her.

"Nat-su-me, care to help me out here?" she pleaded. Her expression showed great difficulty in carrying the loads she got.

"No," the fire-caster monotonously replied before walking away, opening the door wide enough for her to enter.

"Ba-ka!"

Hours ago, after their dismissal, both Mikan and Natsume were called to the Faculty Department by Jinno. Knowing Jinno, Mikan already knew this was because she probably failed the last test in Math, a subject which is equivalent to four units. But she couldn't help it. Math was just too difficult and too boring for her to actually understand. However, what troubled her was the fact that Natsume was called too, aka a genius. It was quite impossible to believe he failed the exam.

When she reached the office, she was shocked Natsume was actually there, standing in front of Jinno himself. Well, commonly when he's called, Natsume wouldn't come –especially if what called him was a teacher, Jinno at that. Let's just say Natsume has quite the knack to piss off teachers, taking it with him as a habit. Or, probably, he just doesn't want to involve himself with certain petty things like these. But now –_unbelievable, _Mikan thought.

"I assume you already know why I called you here, Sakura."

"H-hai," she nervously answered.

"And I called you here, Hyuuga, to tutor her. Punish her, if she won't listen. By all means, I don't care," the teacher with a pet frog commanded the lad, immediately going straight to the point. _Heartless_, Mikan thought.

"I don't want to," Natsume flatly answered, defying yet again his teacher.

"_You_ are her partner. Besides, I also heard Sakura failed the Science exams, to a total of an eight unit failure."

.

"Seriously, how stupid could you get? Failing two four unit subjects?"

"Jerk! You know you could always refuse Jinno-sensei if you're totally against this! I could ask Yuu, or Hotaru, or probably Ruka-pyon for help-"

Just then, _SPLAT! _A book came zooming in her face.

"Whatever, little girl! Let's just start with Chem, shall we. You're already wasting my time. I'm punishing you every time you get an answer wrong."

After he said this, Natsume proceeded to his desk. He sat in a chair and folded his arms, waiting for the brunette to actually stand up and move. His face was still monotonous, showing no hint of any emotion –positive or not. It was just plain neutral.

Meanwhile, certain curses were already dancing in Mikan's head. Certain curses like what a jerk Natsume really is, or what a baka he is. But for the sake of her grades, she let all of these things slip before getting the Chemistry book he mercilessly threw at her face. She stood up before heading towards his direction, the book already in her hands.

She placed it on top of the table before plopping herself on one of the chairs. She moved a good inch near him, thinking it would be easier to communicate that way. No other intentions in mind but finishing this tutorial. In no time soon, though out of his nature and liking, Natsume started teaching the brunette some Chemistry.

Once in a while, Mikan would interrupt Natsume's explanation out of sheer fun. Or it could be because she couldn't follow him already that she needed a good excuse to interrupt him. Either way, it was pissing Natsume off –in a way.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No."

"You expect me to understand the whole concept of the book?"

"Yes."

In certain cases like those, the raven would just answer her with a single word, hoping she'd stop annoying him and actually start analyzing the situations he is giving her. But, there are particular instances when she just wouldn't stop.

"Just how badly do you want me to punish you?" He lit up a fireball in his hands.

"Eek! I'm sorry! Ah, how about we go to the different types of Chemical reactions?" she suggested before grabbing the book out of his hold. She uneasily flipped through the pages, trying to find the topic on one of it.

"Ah, here!" she exclaimed before giving the book back.

"Ba-ka! This is just an easy topic. Even a kinder could answer this!"

"My point exactly," she replied with a grin, so certain she would get all of his questions right and, thus, stopping him from teasing her further.

"You asked for it, ba-ka! Then, what product is formed after a synthesis reaction between an unknown metal M and the nonmetal Nitrogen?" Natsume asked.

"Salt," she answered, a satisfied grin etched in her face. She was too sure she got the correct answer. After all, a synthesis reaction between metal and nonmetal yields salt –more or less a crystalline substance. But Natsume's expression showed otherwise. Her answer was wrong.

"You still don't get it, do you?" This time, his voice was serious –as if pained or something. Well, at least that's what Mikan thought.

"Get what?" she innocently asked. He didn't reply.

"Tch. What's the use of asking you a simple question when you still won't get it?"

"Mou, you're harsh! One time, you're this serious. The next, you become a jerk. Are you bipolar or something?"

"Do you want me to burn your hair?"

"No! Fine, then, what do you want to teach me?"

"Nuclear reactions," he answered.

"Are you addicted to bombings?"

"A radioactive Iodine-131 has a half-life of eight days. Start, if you, with 458, 000 g and placed it under Uranium heat, how many will remain after a year?" It was obvious Natsume ignored her.

"Wait! I didn't tell you to start yet! Besides, your grammar suddenly… sucks," Mikan complained.

"Did I ask for your signal in the first place? And, quit complaining baka!"

"I-it's 6.5 times ten to the negative nine. Well, according to my scientific calculator, that is." Her reply came. This time, she was sure of the answer her scientific calculator gave her. No way would she be wrong this time. She checked it, for like, three times.

"Baka! You're even denser than gold. The answer would still be 458, 000 g."

"Huh?"

"You know what? There's no point in this. You're done for today." With that, Natsume told Mikan to get her things before pushing her outside. The moment he banged the door close, Mikan leaned in his door before looking outside, past the glass windows of the quiet hallways.

"When will you stop with the equations, Natsume, and just simplify it yourself?" She sighed before walking back to her room.

Chapter One ends | **TO ****BE ****CONTINUED**

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><p>13

What could Natsume and Mikan both possibly mean? Find out in the next chapters.


	2. F of G

This is a Hotaru/Ruka segment.

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><p><strong>SIMPLIFIED EXPRESSION<strong>

- Work out the angles to sustain the attraction.

Chapter Two | **F ****of ****G**

The following days that transpired was unimaginable.

Sumire Shouda, aka Permy, and her gang were crying their eyes out every now and then –cursing and promising to themselves Mikan would one day feel her wrath and get the revenge she deserves. Koko was grinning and smirking almost all the time, earning a smack in the head from the infamous fire-caster every time he does that. Hotaru was getting richer every second. Ruka was, well, being bullied by the Ice Queen as always. Everyone's normal behavior went haywire after the unexpected change.

Those _were_the things that took place after that night, during those moments. Those moments when, during recess, lunch and dinner, Mikan and Natsume would be seen together. The reason? For tutorial purposes. Quite funny! But wherever they go, a certain electrifying black aura seems to follow them from behind. Addition to that, the sound of a croaking frog too. Whether their teacher is stalking them, they aren't too sure. But, either way, Mikan was also determined to increase her grade. No matter what.

Natsume would be pulling her in random places. Well, not literally. It's just that, wherever he goes, Mikan would follow. He'd just tell her "let's go," and they'd go to another destination –the Sakura tree, the library, in the classroom, anywhere. The reason was obvious. Natsume was getting pissed. For what reason? It was because he sensed it wasn't only Jinno that's following them, stalking them. Let's just say, there's an additional two more presence right in their tails.

Earlier this morning, when everyone was still asleep, there was a loud knock in one of the dormitory rooms.

Though Ruka was still too tired and sleepy to answer the person, the chilly aura he got gave him no other option but to get up.

"What do you want Imai?" he asked the moment he opened the door. His eyes groggy and his voice raspy from the unexpected waking up call, or knock.

"Here, take this camera. You'll come with me this afternoon. I have some things for you to do," another very well-known monotonous person replied, aka the Ice Queen.

"I'm busy."

"Do I look like I'm giving you another option? In case you forgot, I have an embarrassing picture of you with me. I could sell it anytime and anywhere to any person in this Academy, and you'd be in deep trouble," she blackmailed, showing to him the picture she took for proof.

"F-fine," he finally gave up.

"Nice doing business with you, Nogi," she said before taking her exit.

.

Somewhere behind a bush, "let's go," another voice commanded before they went away. One was riding some scooter, while the other was on the back of a baby elephant. They've been following a certain couple for almost the whole day –in the library, you name it. And, yes, both were riding the same scooter and the same baby elephant even as they went inside the library to stalk. The caretaker robot allowed them, too afraid to go against its maker.

A girl with raven hair was taking pictures of a certain idiot and a certain fire-caster walking together at different angles, making sure she get a good view for a good story to publish to the whole students and teachers. While she's doing so, she'd been ordering a particular blond lad to go to different places, mostly the Central Town, to buy her some memory cards or anything that pleases her –sometimes a drink, crab puffs, and whatnots. Though Ruka was at his limits, he couldn't afford to see a piss off Hotaru, especially if what she's holding contains an embarrassing piece about him. He couldn't risk himself. He could, would not dare try.

"Hey, Hotaru, aren't you going way overboard? Mikan is your best friend, you know," Ruka stated as a matter of fact.

"All things start from good chemistries. Now, we'll just have to apply physics and work out with the angles to sustain the attractions," Hotaru mumbled. One eye closed as the other looked past the viewfinder, trying to find a good image. She wanted to test, to see and check whether the depth and distance was just right. She slightly adjusted the focusing ring before finally taking a shot of the scene.

"Wait, are you playing matchmaking? Seriously, you'd be deep fried once Natsume hears this," Ruka commented, readying another memory card for her to use. Honestly, the last click was the six hundredth plus click for the day, eating more than three 4GB memory cards.

"Do I look like I cared?" she replied.

"No." Well, her answer was obvious enough.

"Good. You understand. Anyway, here, clean this," she instructed before handing to him the camera she got. At the same time, she retrieved the camera Ruka had been holding, the one she gave him early this morning.

She took a few more good shots before Natsume stood up once again and pulled the brunette to who knows where.

"Let's go!"

"You know what? I think I'm done with this Imai. I've been following you for God knows how long."

"Is that complain I hear from you, Nogi?" she asked, looking back at him with the same emotionless façade. Her eyes were in-between deadly and amusement. He couldn't exactly point out which of the two. Or probably both. But, whichever, he too was pissed off. And maybe it is best that she knew it too. Or not.

"Since when did even you start ordering me?"

"Let's see. Since the time I beat you down in a Physics test, got you ranked down to a demigod when I was faster than you in Tetris, obliterated you with a piston shot at a good angle in Minecraft and got a photo of you sulking and baby talking with Piyo," she answered.

"What if I ask for a rebattle?" he suggested.

"In Tetris? I have no time to walk back to the computer lab and-"

This was the right time, he thought to himself. The atmosphere he set was to his advantage, or was it really? Still, one way or the other, he knew she walked straight into his perfectly-planned trap. She'll be the first to raise the white flag this time. He was sure of it.

"No. Not in Tetris, in Physics! Let's see if who could get who tongue-tied. If you win, fine, I'll do whatever you say. If I win, you have to stop ordering me and do what I say," he explained the mechanics.

Currently, Hotaru was pissed with this. Not that she was angry because of the challenge Ruka offered her. It was the fact that he was wasting her precious time to take good angles of the couple walking away. Wanting to get over this absurdity in an instant, she accepted the challenge.

"Also, you'll have to pay me five thousand rabbits, for wasting my time and for making Mikan and Natsume get away," she added.

"Fine!" he agreed without thinking.

"Okay, I'll be starting. You have to guess this. I am commonly attracted to a rare particle, a dense and hard solid, at 8g. What is it? If you want hints, it is dandelion in color made out of soft materials," he asked. A smirk could be seen in his face, thinking he had the upper hand.

"There is no such gravitational force exceeding millions of a million, genius. And the object isn't actually made out of soft materials," she answered.

"Okay, it might not necessarily be soft. But there exist an object with a certain g like that. Its properties made it able to do so. Then, what is it?"

"Albert Einstein."

For a short while, a nerve-racking atmosphere emanated between the two.

"So, you do get it? You know, what I'm trying to mean," he asked, not knowing what he would react to her possible answers.

"What if I do?" she challenged.

"Heartless…" he commented.

"Ba-ka! You're the one who's not thinking! Both shared the same equation, right?" she spoke out of the blue before walking away.

"I-mai," he silently whispered. No words were left to speak. No good statement to retort –in his case. Then, he knew he had lost –again. This was an unexpected response. And now, he was practically caught speechless and tongue-tied, too stunned to have a comeback.

"Anyway, if you already have the money with you, give it to me cash. Also, I'm expecting you to…," she further instructed, snapping Ruka out of his trance.

Chapter Two ends | **TO ****BE ****CONTINUED**

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><p>23

Probably the easiest among the easiest. Albert Einstein meant another thing. Figure it out. Anyway, thanks for the support. Not yet edited. So, forgive me for my grammars.


	3. AfterMath

**SIMPLIFYING EXPRESSION**

- It is where one is less than three U, where U is neither equal nor less than zero

Chapter Three | **AFTER**_**MATH**_

"Mou, Natsume! When will you teach me the real deal? Give me mnemonics that I could understand and _not _problems that would just add to my confusion," Mikan whined. They were both inside his room, having an overnight study in preparation for the long tests the following day.

"Would you stop complaining? You're the fortunate one to have me tutor you and yet all you do is grumble!"

Natsume stood up from his chair. He turned to the shelf at the left side of the study table and got a thick Algebra book. Then, he settled it in front of her.

"We'll be studying Math?" Mikan asked.

"Well, what do you think?"

"But we're not yet done with Chemistry and Physics!"

"I've taught you what you need to know in those subjects. It would be a waste of time to keep on going over the same thing the whole night when we haven't even started with Math," Natsume explained.

"Whoah! You really do care, don't you?" Mikan teased. "Since when did you ever had the interest of properly tutoring me anyway?" she exclaimed, quite shocked to see a willing Natsume. And as if his serious stare wasn't an enough answer for her, she came closer to him and touched his forehead. "Are you alright or something?" Natsume slapped her hand away. _Well, but of course, Natsume will always be Natsume_. Mikan thought, as she caressed her hand marked by his slap.

"Do you want me to teach you or not?" He asked, quite irritated somehow. Mikan did not answer.

"Fine," he said before he stood up with the Math book in hand. Just when he was about to walk away however, he was stopped by her. Mikan grabbed the ends of his shirt, preventing him from walking away. "I'm sorry," she muttered. Natsume sighed, before settling back down.

The rest of the night was eerily quiet. He focused on the few things that he thought might come out in the test. For two and a half hour, he taught her some techniques on solving math equations.

"Do you finally get it?" he asked before looking at his wrist watch. It's thirty minutes past 10 already.

"Yes. Somewhat," Mikan replied, still looking at the piece of paper. She grabbed her scientific calculator and re-calculated Natsume's solutions.

"Don't use your calculator," Natsume reminded her.

"Huh?" she asked, looking at him. Somehow, being too focused on the equation, she didn't quite get what he just said.

"Jinno doesn't let us use calculators in tests. You know that. Don't depend on it too much," he answered her.

"I know," she replied. "Just for this equation," she added before she resumed solving.

"Fine." He took the Algebra book and scanned it for more equations. "Anyway, while you're solving, listen and answer this," Natsume said.

"Okay. I'm listening."

"It's a u^2 + 8(5 + 7) expression that has a simplest term of 9 – 4 – 1. What is it?" he asked.

"What?" Mikan stopped her solving and looked at him. "What the hell is with that equation? I don't know. Is that even possible? How can you simplify u^2 + 8(5 + 7) to 9 – 4 – 1? 9 – 4 – 1 equals 4 right?" She flipped the paper she was currently holding and wrote down the equation. She then turned to him and showed him the paper for confirmation.

"Did I get it right?" she asked. "Wait, you said it. So, is the answer a term?" she further asked, scribbling a few more things on the paper.

Then, she turned to him once more. "I really don't get it, Natsume. Tell me, what's the answer? I give up."

"So, you'd just give up?" he asked. Mikan gulped, which Natsume never failed to ignore. He sighed –the second time. "Never mind. Forget about that. Just finish answering the equations I gave you." Then, he resumed flipping the pages. Reluctantly, Mikan did what he just said.

.

By 11:30 PM, they were already done with most of the Math topics. It just matters upon reviewing everything they've discussed, which was more on simplifying equations. Natsume took a clean sheet before scribbling an equation. Then, he gave it to her for her to solve. "Simplify it," he said quite emotionlessly.

"Mou, no need to be angry," she commented before taking the sheet from him.

"I am not." Mikan did not argue further. Instead, she focused on the one equation he wrote. Wanting to get over it, she started solving.

.

After some time, "Natsume," she muttered under her breath, finally realizing what the equation meant.

"I need to go," she excused herself. She fixed her things and placed everything insider her backpack. She reached for the knob and opened the door. Before she stepped out, she turned to him once more. Then, she smiled. "Thank you for helping, Natsume. Thanks for everything." She finally took her leave and closed the door.

.

While walking at the quiet hallways, Mikan heaved a sigh of relief. Somehow, after solving that one equation, she didn't know how to react. Let alone face him for that matter. "Natsume," she whispered once again, stopping in her tracks. And as if wanting to clarify things, she took out that one paper in her pocket. She read the equation once more, and once again simplified it. She arrived at the same answer. She sighed. Well, it really was rude of her to walk out. But somehow, being in that room with him, she did not know what to do. Anyway, she did give him a proper goodbye, didn't she?

But… What if she was just wrong at simplifying it? What if it was just a coincidence? What if it really did not mean anything? What if she was just the only one who thinks that it does and now she's overreacting? What if…?

Then, she remembered what Hotaru had asked her that morning_ –do you know why Hyuuga agreed to tutor you?_ That time, she really did not know. When she asked Hotaru the reason, all she answered was, "Find it out for yourself, idiot. I pity Hyuuga. You're so dense."

She held the paper tight. She looked past the glass. "Maybe it's time," she smiled. Then, she continued walking.

_Simplify this_: 9x – 7i (greater than) 3(3x – 7u)

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><p>The following morning, Mikan came early in class for a quick review.<p>

"Good morning, Mikan-chan. You came quite early today," Yuu greeted her the moment he came to class.

"Just having some quick review before the test starts," she answered.

"Good luck, Mikan-chan." Mikan simply smiled.

.

After the tests and the final results were shown, everyone was surprised about how it went. "Wow! Mikan-chan is one of the top 5. She really put a great deal of effort on the tests," one classmate commented.

"Hmph! Of course she would be lucky. She got my Natsume-kun to tutor her," Sumire exasperated before hmphing herself away.

Meanwhile, inside the classroom, Hotaru Imai approached the raven-haired lad sleeping at the far corner of the room.

"I want to congratulate you, Hyuuga. You managed to knock some sense on the idiot," Hotaru began. Natsume did not answer.

"Anyway, the baka wanted me to give you this. She said it's your time to understand and solve these equations. You've been giving her a hard time these past few days."

With that, Natsume lowered down his manga to have a look on the paper. "Hn," he started, "I didn't expect you to agree being her messenger."

"I did not. She paid me big-time for it," Hotaru answered before handling to him the paper. Then, she walked away with a small smile plastered on her face.

The moment Hotaru was out, Natsume straightened himself and took the small piece of paper. He unfolded it and read the text.

_Hi, Natsume! First, I want to thank you for teaching me all the things I need to know._

_Anyway, I'll be telling you a secret. But before reading on, be sure to count one hundred backwards._

_3 * 8 * 1 = 3 + 4 + 1_

_So I guess that's it. Tell me if you finally got the answer._

_-Mikan_

"How stupid," Natsume said before folding back the paper. Then, he stood up from his seat and went to where he thinks she would most likely be.

**THE END**

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><p>Thank you for the support. Yeah, I know this was crappy. I actually had the idea of deleting this fiction. But once I realized only a chapter more to go, I decided not to. So, yes, I rushed the whole thing –probably the reason why it's crappy. I'll be editing this… probably after nth year. I really do not know. Anyway, I had a fun time writing this. Also, please support my two other fictions: <em>The Long Run <em>and _Seven Wishes_.

Chapter 4: _Answers _is already removed. I hoped you had the chance to view it long before.


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